Israeli pop star Noa Kirel wears Kanye West outfit to MTV EMAs in “message to the world”
Israeli pop star Noa Kirel wore an outfit adorned with photos of Kanye West to last night’s (November 13) MTV EMAs in a “message to the world”.
Last month, West was banned from Twitter and Instagram after posting a series of anti-Semitic messages. He went on to say he didn’t believe in the term anti-Semitism and that he’s “jealous” of Jewish culture.
Several anti-fascist groups spoke out against the remarks and many artists, celebrities, and politicians publicly condemned West over his remarks including Jack Antonoff, John Legend, David Schwimmer, New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and ex-Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
At the EMAs ceremony in Dusseldorf, Germany on Sunday night, Kirel appeared on the red carpet in an outfit featuring many pictures of Ye’s face, with The Israel Times reporting the singer as calling the choice “a fashion item with a message for the whole world; an item that signals that I am both Jewish and Israeli.
“We have been experiencing a lot of antisemitism, especially in light of Kanye West’s statements. I am proud to be an Israeli artist who represents Israel in the world,” she said.
“Oh ye,” she wrote on Instagram along with a photo of the outfit.
View this post on Instagram
Over the past 24 hours, Dave Chappelle’s opening monologue on Saturday Night Live has been accused of “popularising” anti-Semitism.
The comedian kicking off his hosting stint on the show last week (November 12) by joking about Kanye West and Kyrie Irving’s anti-Semitic remarks, saying the former should have apologised to “buy himself some time”.
“I’ve probably been doing this 35 years now, and early in my career I learned that there are two words in the English language you should never say together in sequence, and they are: The Jews,” Chappelle said. “I’ve never heard someone do good after they said that.”
Later in the monologue, Chappelle explained why the anti-Semitic belief that Jewish people collectively run the world is flawed, comparing it to anti-Black racism in parts of America.
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, condemned the monologue, writing on Twitter: “We shouldn’t expect Dave Chappelle to serve as society’s moral compass, but disturbing to see [SNL] not just normalise but popularise anti-Semitism. Why are Jewish sensitivities denied or diminished at almost every turn? Why does our trauma trigger applause?”